If you want to rank your website or business, one of the strategies is having a user-friendly URL. So, what is it and can it help with SEO? 

What is a URL? 

This refers to a “protocol” that specifies how you retrieve the resource, such as FTP, HTTPS, HTTP, and more. It acts as a web address you enter into a browser when searching for a specific page. 

In addition, a URL is also a link. When someone wants to access your website directly, he or she can click it. So, the question remains: Does the URL structure matter? Yes, it does! 

Understanding URL Structure 

A URL structure consists of four parts: domain name, protocol, parameters, and path. 

Protocol: This refers to how the browser will get information about your website or a specific page. It is either https:// or http:// where “s” refers to secure. 

Domain name: It refers to the unique address for your website. You can also have subdomains, which are part of your domain. This helps to organize content for your website. 

Path: The path will specify the exact location of your site on the web server. It will have a series of directories leading to a specific page or file. 

Parameters: Not all URLs have parameters since they are optional. Nonetheless, they are components that will provide additional information to your Web server, helping to sort or filter data. 

Anchors: These are also optional, and they help specify a particular section, allowing users to click directly to the web page. They are indicated with a hash symbol. 

Why Do URLs Matter for SEO 

As you continue to create SEO marketing strategies, remember the URL is important. Here are the benefits: 

Improve User Experience 

When you have a simple URL, it helps search engines and humans to read and understand your destination page. So, a good URL should be semantically accurate by describing the destination. 

In addition, it should provide users with a friendly experience, making them more likely to click the link. Recently, Google replaced the URL within the result snippet area with a breadcrumb path and website name. 

Ranking in Search Engines 

You also need to know that URLs play a significant role in the ranking of websites. Besides giving weight to domain authority, the keyword you use in your URL becomes a ranking factor. 

Therefore, URLs with keywords will help improve your website’s search visibility. Unfortunately, they will not impact the ability to rank. So, ensure you create useful URLs and include a keyword. 

Links 

If you have a well-crafted URL, others can copy and paste it on their social media, blogs, forums, or online venues. When they do so, this helps your website rank with the keywords used on the links. 

Conclusion 

Understanding how to create an SEO friendly URL for your site is essential. It may be a tricky process, but considering a few technical things, it will be easy. You should begin with an SSL certificate and top-level domain to inform users that your site is safe. 

Additionally, consider using keywords and improving readability for humans and search engines.